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Kangaroo Meat - confessions of a wildlife serial killer

Wed, 2010-03-31 12:00 — Tigerquoll

The message being sent by the Australian Government in this 21st Century and in this UN International Year of Biodiversity is that killing wildlife and trade in wildlife is in 2010 somehow acceptable. Even Australia’s Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett at the CITES conference this month failed to oppose the continuation of international trade in critically endangered Bluefin Tuna and Polar Bears. Garrett should go back to singing for his supper.

Australia’s many species of macropods (mainly kangaroo and wallabies) used to be prolific. Now according to the World Wildlife Fund, 42 macropod species are listed, or in the process of being listed, on the IUCN red-list of species threatened with extinction. The distribution and abundance of all bettongs has been severely affected since European settlement. Of all 10 types of bettongs four are extinct, three are threatened and three are considered to be at low risk of extinction.

Western Australia’s woylie population has suffered more than a 90 per cent decline and has been re-listed as critically endangered. Of all five types of potoroos, one species is extinct, three are threatened and one subspecies is considered low risk despite suffering a 10-50 per cent decline in population. With 80 per cent of potoroo species extinct or at risk of extinction, this group of macropods has been severely affected.

There was one type of desert rat kangaroo, which is now extinct. Only known from the hottest and driest parts of Central Australia, has not been seen since 1935.

So long as Australia’s Liberal and Labor governments permit wildlife shooting, there will be people out there like Chris that will exploit it. It is time to outlaw wildlife poaching throughout Australia. It is morally wrong and it is driving species extinctions.

CONFESSIONS OF A WILDLIFE SERIAL KILLER

The following responses to questions were made by a self confessed wildlife killer in Dalby Queensland between 27th and 30th March 2010.

1. Killing kangaroos for commercial meat and destroying their remnant habitat is just a hangover from illegal colonist exploitation of Australia. Killing wildlife is poaching.

Roo Killer Response:“its only poaching if the animal is protected form all licensed shooting - example koalas, wombats platypus.”

2. Killing native wildlife is wrong. Eating it only encourages supply of kangaroo meat, and perpetuate the wrong.

Roo Killer Response:“why is it wrong explain that no one can cause there is no right or wrong just different points of view.”

3. Most kangaroo meat is sold as pet food, "not for human consumption". The pets (mainly cats and dogs) are introduced animals. Not only are colonists killing wildlife, they feed it to their pets.

Roo Killer Response:“71% of roos shot in Australia are exported to Russia for human consumption, 25% for pet food and 4% are shot only for there skins…i shoot only for human consumption.”

4. If as roo poachers claim, that it is ok to eat Kangaroo, what about wombat, Koala and Platypus and dog?
Roo Killer Response:“wombats, koalas and platypus are protected by law roo's arent protected if you have a marco pods harvesting licence and mate i dare you to eat a dogs liver and see if you live to tell the tail.”

5. "People are capable of eating anything that is available." So why is cat and dog not included? They are introduced animals. Thousands remain unwanted in RSPCA depots and lethal injection is a humane way of killing them. The Koreans eat dog so why not Australians?

Roo Killer Response:“cause we’re Australian not Korean, dog is a delicacy to Koreans as is kangaroo to most of the world.”

6. Rood poaching ignores the ecological cost. If the roos shooters had to pay per carcass for the loss of the wildlife, their commercial exploitation would not be profitable. I can't see that with roo meat selling for under $4 a kilo how it is profitable anyway. Shooting wildlife for pet meat for pittance?

Roo Killer Response:“so should people that own cats then have to pay for all the wildlife they kill. all we do is make a good living of an over populated community of animals keep the numbers down for everyone. and i can get a different job when ever i want i'm a mechanical fitter/welder by trade but i choose to do what i love.”

7. So long as cowboy poachers in utes hoon around the scrub shooting wildlife for a pittance and seek to legitimise it by calling it a 'kangaroo industry', there ought to be calls to set up a Poacher Culling Industry.

Roo Killer Response:“I agree cause 98% of the cowboys hooning around the bush culling roo's aren't accredited and there shooting roos that i can make good money off. poacher's should have the book thrown at them they dont treat the animals the way professional's do.”

8. So where are kangaroos "out of control"? Why were theyr not out of control pre-white fella?

Roo Killer Response:“if you knew anything about the Australian bush you'd know not much can actually live of the native grasses so when white fellas came and introduces good feed the roos got outta control. put a gold fish in a small tank it grows to the size that suit it's environment.... put the same gold fish in a big tanks and it will grow bigger to suit that environment if there is sufficient food.”

9. What is the minimum definition of a "professional shooter"? Is it anyone licenced to shoot holding a long arm licence? In NSW, this can mean a supervised 12 year old. How are recreational shooters and farmers holding a shooters licence distinguished from professional marksman with a marksman rating? I don't think they are. Australian shooting associations are all amateur and voluntary and there is no official 'professional shooters licence' as much as many roo shooters would comfort from such legitimacy.

Roo Killer Response:“You have to hold a special license to harvest kangaroos in Australia, issues after an accuracy test and 2 TAFE courses are passed and your vehicle is up to spec and registered threw the states macro-pod harvesting agency the license is issued by the state you live in, the shooters association of Australia has nothing to do with it except issuing me with a gun license saying i can legally own a firearm,you must have a Queensland macro-pod harvesting registration number to btw and there is a special license, if anyone with out this license is caught shooting roo's it is classed as poaching and they get the book thrown at them with a jail term in toe.”

10. A kangaroo's head at 300 metres at dawn or dusk when kangaroos are grazing and so typically shot by roo shooters. This marksman standard ought to be the Australian professional standard. But I reckon we'd find bugger all shooters competent to that accuracy. Hence, despite this being a typical scenario this is why the lack of independent monitoring and systemic cover up of body shots.

Roo Killer Response:“the government states an accuracy test must be past at 100 yard, 5 out of 5 shots in an inch and a half circle at 100 yards it like the size of a coke lid at that distance, and on a typical night i will take shots in excess of 450yards with a ruger mark2 m77 varmint rifle .223 caliber and hit it in the eye 9 out of 10 time, the other time it goes up its nasal cavity, roo shooters can out shot any long distance sportsman shooter by a long shot we depend on it for a living and shooting targets is a waste of time unless your sighting in your new rifle.”

11. Why is there no independent government watchdog overseeing roo shooters in outback QLD, NSW, SA, WA? Is it because state governments couldn't give a toss?

Roo Killer Response:“Queensland macro-pod harvesting branch is located in charleville, and each shooter has to purchase tags with the numbers on it so a table to field trace can be establish and all carcasses are inspected by a government vet b4 the go for human consumption, or dog meat. yet again your not in the industry so i wouldn't expect you to actually know the facts only the emotional stuff.”

12. "Kangaroos are destroying...crops" Where?

Roo Killer Response:“go talk to any wheat. lucerne, oat, or any veggie farmer and they will give you the honest truth and you have to actually leave the city to see where the kangaroos are doing the damage, go to any country town sit at the bar at the local pub and ask the old fellas or any locals from the area and you'll be told what you need to be told.”

13. "Kangaroos are taking valuable feed away from cattle" Where?

Roo Killer Response:“the macro-pod harvesting license is issued by the EPA (environmental protection agency) just to add insult to injury. check out www.rooshooter.com.au for a little heads up”

(Kangaroo killing) ..."it’s not a pittance of a wage mate since the chiller box re-opened on the 15/1/2010 till this morning 29/3/2010 i placed my 5204th tag on the last roo i shot last night. and that's just for this year so far..... at an average weight of 28kg's going off my records that's right every roo has to be recorded when, where, weight etc..... so far this year that's a grand total of $98,876 b4 taxes.... so if i actually shot for the entire year i will have shot 20816 roos for the year there lucky i take 3 months off over winter aren't they.... and that's just me 1 of over 1500 registered roo shooters in Queensland alone. And yet most of us full timers shoot an average of 20,000 roo's a year and somehow we keep doing this year in and year out and the numbers aren't dropping there's still in excess of 60 million roo's in Australia according to last years study done by the EPA so really we need more roo shooter's."

"well you all have a good day I'm going to bed got a long night ahead of me making my pittance of a wage. oh and tiger quoll maybe some time you should come out roo shooting with me so you can see what its all about. sorry but i can't let you shoot any cause well that would be poaching but you'll still see them in plague proportion and actually know how it really is and see first hand the damage they do. well y'all have fun working the jobs that you hate while i sleep the day away after a profitable night 1100 buck for one night at work who woulda guessed you could make this kinda money and actually enjoy your job."

Further comments:

lol that was funny (29-Mar-2010):

“lol just fueled me ute up at the bp in dalby with a 32 roos and 8 pigs on the back, there were a bus load of city slickers there lol, never seen so many peeps near threw up and crying lmao why do people react to it like that if you dont like wat we do in the bush stay in the city. might have been cause watto and i were eating kfc while we were fueling up dont know. you all need to harden up. its the easiest thing a person can do for a living. yet again your all just turning the situation back around to emotional crap the roo's dont feel a thing they dont even know wats happened to em.

And yeha roo's may have been here for thousands of years but i can tell ya this i'll be shooting them till the day i die and i wont even make an impact on there numbers in australia, my son is an up and coming roo shooter to at the age of 4 he can skin and gut a roo nearly as quick as me and over the last 4 weekends he has shoot over 50 roos with only 8 misses they still didnt get away tho like always dad was there to clean up the mess. my advice is roo shooters are here to stay deal with it weather it's leagally or illegally roos will be shoot till the end of time or at least untill they learn to shoot back. if you dont like it dont purchase any of the products and you'll be rite out of site out of mind.

i'm chris's partner (29-Mar-2010)

“hi all look i'm a chick and go out every now and then shooting with chris and yes he told me he said about our son going along look its something that as an animal lover i see your point of view on the situation , i used to hate it until i started going out shooting with him and there is actually nothing morally wrong with it at all, chris kills every animal with the utmost respect and never hurts or injuries any joeys they get a quick and painless death like the rest of the roos in his sites, in the last 6 years we've been together i think i've only seen him misses 10 times and that wasn't a complete miss that was a neck shot instead of a head shot, he truely is a master at what he does, and plus the look on his face when he teaches his son and spends time with him out there is worth any amount of roo's lives, i have a photo of chris with our son and the first pig he shot the smile on chris's face i've only seen a few time , when we got married and when our son was born. it's like any thing if you love it you excell at it and do it right. look what happens out there is up to the individual dont judge all roo shooters on the ones you see in the papers giving them a bad name they arent doing anything wrong, there making a living of the land and helping out the local farmers. if cattle were australian wildlife would you all be lobbing to stop them being farmed???? or trying to make life harder for the beef industry i think not.

And to answer you suggestion (29-Mar-2010)

"...Yes, it is as easy as choosing a small or large macca's meal, he doesnt even bat an eye lid at them when i first went out shooting with him i grabbed one of the joeys and tried to take it home with us, chris went off and killed it i felt bad but i understand why he lives by the you gotta be cruel to be kind theory cause well its true it's a sad fact but it has to be done. it's not cruel or inhumane the way he does it, he does it by the book. if he can he tries to avoid shooting doe's for the fact that well i dont think he actually likes to kill the joey's, he might not flinch or have any compassion for the joey if he does shoot a doe's that has a joey but he doesnt smile for a while after. so i think it does in a way affect him when he has to kill a joey just he's not the type to show it. he's gunna be pissed at me for saying that but well he isn't a cold heartless killer like most of you may think.

loop holes mate loop holes (30-Mar-2010):

"There's a loop hole in the claws that people shooting with an accredited shooter, can if deemed competent by the accredited person to assist in them in there duties it doesn't actually state that they can't shoot the roo's while under the supervision of an a credited shooter, i was just getting my point across to tiger quoll that it's not poaching in any way shape or form if you have the correct license's. i honestly think that any one and every one should be aloud to shoot roo's with no limitations, its plain and simple there's to many of them i boxed 114 of them last night and could have easily shot more, but the night isn't long enough, also got 26 pigs there worth more but harder to find even tho there in plague proportion to unlike a roo a pig has a mind and thinks as soon as a pig see's you, your dog, a spotlight ect they do the bolt. and this instinct isn't from being in a spot light before cause like a roo they'd be dead, nothing roo, goat, pig, deer, cat, rabbit, fox or dingo lives to tell the tale when i get my sights on it. a few of my cousins came up to my place last weekend and where trying to challenge me to see wat i could and couldnt do with my .223, there was a hare about 600 to 650 yards away and they put money on it that i couldnt hit it, more fool them, took its head clean off and just to show them it wasnt a fluke i placed the other 4 rounds in to the carcass."

"Look nothing that get shoot by a professional feels a like, it's oh look a light and there dead before they even hear the shot. now any other animal would be long gone after the first shot. but no a mob of roo's are the stupidest mob of animals in the world they jump 15-20 meters away and stop look back then start eating again if the paddock is big enough you can take out a mob of 20 within half and hour, and you only have to move your ute about 20meters in a circle. if they had any kind of smarts they would dissappear after the first shot, still doesnt help tho there just as perdictable on the hop as standing still just sit there and wait watch them threw the scope get the highest point while on the hop line it up and let her rip in the 6 years i've been shooting i've only missed maybe 10 roos that are on the hop and they were clean misses i dint nick the animal’

Chris, I have met hunters face to face and frankly I find them very nice people, like anybody else. They are kind and loving to their families, hard workers, help their mates etc. The difference is they are in denial about the fact that animals have feelings and justify their killing with the usual excuses ('they don't feel anything', 'they are pests' and 'I'm helping the farmers').

But what if you are wrong? What if kangaroos are not 'grass-stripping pests' without feelings? What if they do have feelings just like you, your family, your dogs? Sure dogs have personalities but so do kangaroos and pigs. I know people who have pigs for pets who say they are more intelligent than dogs. Talk to any wildlife carer who will tell you that kangaroos have gentle, sweet, affectionate personalities and are far from mindless. I have a friend in S.A. who knew a wild kangaroo, a big male, who used to run up to her and hug her! He would visit her to be with her kangaroos that she rehabbed as orphaned joeys. That is until a bloody dog spooked it and he ran in front of a car. She was devastated, let me tell you.

You might be surprised to find in fact native animals have the same emotions we have - they fear death, love live, protect their families, feel anger, jealousy, boredom, joy. All animals do. We cannot prove what another creature is thinking or feeling so how can you say with such certainty that kangaroos or pigs feel nothing when they are shot, stabbed and that it's only 'nerves' that makes them move? What if they experienced excruciating pain, terror like you could not ever imagine unless you were in the same position yourself? Wouldn't you feel bad that you had caused another sentient being pain? You say you 'bleed the animals out'. How would you like to be bled out? How would you like to watch your wife or child bled out?

If you roo shooters truly don't enjoy watching animals suffer, why not watch animals happily grazing and just leave them alone? Killing them, destroying their families and mobs is ripping them apart just so you can get your $1100 a night. Isn't that a bit selfish?

You say that it's just a question of different points of view but since when is the kangaroo or the pig's point of view considered? Did you ever get taught the Golden Rule 'Do Unto Others as You Would Have them Do Unto You'? Or does that only apply to humans? Are humans the supreme species or could all species possibly have equal value? If not, why not? If humans are so superior why are we destroying this planet? Even a worm or cockroach is not destroying his world so clearly we are the stupidest species, not the smartest.

What if humans were the biggest pest on the planet and not kangaroos? We have caused the drought and removed 75% of the forests (thanks to livestock farming, logging, and of course, aborigines who lit extensive fires to flush out the kangaroos). We have polluted waterways, soil and air, overfished the oceans and caused mass extinction of species that have been evolving for millions of years. But does that make it OK to go around stabbing people in the heart and shooting them, bashing their kids to death because humans are pests? So why do it to a species that are not a pest and who can't fight back? Surely that is cowardice?

You say kangaroos are out of control. Seven billion humans is 'out of control', not 27 million kangaroos. Since you like to quote 'facts' check out the current kangaroo populations for 2009 at www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/wild-harvest/kangaroo/population/index.html#2009 . There are not 60 million kangaroos at all - I even doubt there are 27 million kangaroos since it's only an estimate and more likely to be much less. And by the way there are 4-5 times more sheep than kangaroos so why don't you refer to 'plagues of sheep'? There are more cows than kangaroos so what about 'plagues of cows'? There are almost as many people in Australia as there are kangaroos so what about 'plagues of humans'?

Since you tell me to get my facts straight, how about you do a little research and get your facts straight? Go to www.nokangaroomeat.org and read the report 'Shot in the Dark' written by Dr Ben Dror Ami who spent 2 yrs undercover investigating chillers. His report was covered by the Sydney Morning Herald. His report shows there is a lot of contamination and diseases in kangaroo meat and conclusively proves that roo shooters do neck shots.

As for fancy words, Chris, exotic diseases do come from pathogenic bacteria and it's rife in 'game' meat. Why else do you think Russia banned kangaroo meat in August 2008? You seem to think Russia is still importing kangaroo meat.

On that same website read the report by the Canberra Environment + Sustainability Resource Centre which reports that kangaroos actually benefit the environment (unlike humans) by regenerating wild grasses and herbs, by aerating the soil, by helping soil ecosystems (unlike hoofed animals who cause soil erosion), by eating dry grasses that ignite easily in bush fires and so on. In other words, the more kangaroos the better for the environment. The less cows and sheep, the better for the environment. These are facts Chris, not opinions. Do your research before you accuse others of not getting their facts straight.

Your example of kangaroos being stupid because they jump into a fence - if you study The Pathology of Native Australian Animals you will learn about how native Australian animals are extremely stress prone. Koalas can get so stressed out about losing their favourite tree that they stop breeding and die. It means that if kangaroos do something that looks stupid like running into a car it's not because it's stupid but because it is stressed out of its brain.

Could it be that you roo shooters are all feeling defensive about the fact that you shoot kangaroos? No other country in the world eats their national icon or worse, feeds it to the dogs. Shame on us!

If you were open to learning new information you would not so casually dismiss my original article on Kangaroo Meat as lacking factual evidence without at least checking my references.

Could it be that what you think is a fact is nothing more than habitual thinking that you have never questioned. It's healthy to question yourself. Only arrogant people are unable to admit they could be wrong.

I invite you to question yourself and the way you think. Or would that just be too painful?

menkit

"It’s embarrassing for Australia that we eat our own wildlife ....I’m here to tell you it’s just not right. Simply do not buy, use or eat kangaroo products”
~ Steve Irwin
Sign the most important petition ever created to help kangar

Why do you hate us, cruel man with a gun?
Why do you kill us? What have we done?
You see, we are gentle, when we have no fear,
But we’ll fight with courage, when danger is near.
We belonged to this country, before white men came,
We first knew the mountains, the rugged terrain,
We feared the black man who hunted with spear,
But most of us flourished, before you came here.
Our ways are peaceful, our needs are but few,
If you would like us, we could like you;
If you say we are vermin, and we have no charms,
Why is our image on your coat of arms?
And when you torment us, and we die in pain
For cash in your pocket, you truly won’t gain,
Because when you finally come to the gate,
And lay down the gun that was always your mate,
They’ll ask you out yonder; just what have you done
To deserve that inheritance beyond the sun?
And you won’t get a glimpse of that heavenly park,
You’ll go much lower down to a realm in the dark.
To cherish Australia, should be your goal,
Then please remember we are part of her soul,
As is her bushland, the wattle, the streams,
The moonlight on gumtips, that so softly gleams,
So give up your shooting before it’s too late,
Turn away from the slaughter, this orgy of hate,
Take a job on a farm, in an orchard or mill;
Please leave us in peace, on the plain and the hill.

Searchfortruth has supplied the following link, which showed that red kangaroos and two kinds of sheep in Australia tended to prefer different proportions of different kinds of food available in grasslands, and that these preferences were most marked in poorer quality pasture:www.publish.csiro.au/paper/WR9740027.htm. I republish the abstract here:

"Seasonal Changes in Diet Preferences of Free-Ranging Red Kangaroos, Euros and Sheep in Western New South Wales.

BA Ellis, EM Russell, TJ Dawson and CJF Harrop

Abstract

Stomach contents of free-ranging animals were analysed botanically for low Atriplex shrubland in western New South Wales, Australia, during 1972-74 in good seasons producing abundant growth and diversity of vegetation. Red kangaroo (Megaleia rufa), euro (Macropus robustus) and sheep (Ovis aries) selected grass and forbs when those were readily available. In poorer pasture sheep selected mainly flat-leaved chenopods (saltbush) and kangaroos selected mainly grass with different amounts of flat- or round-leaved chenopods. Euros were the most selective, eating grass even when there was little grass present. Potential overlaps in diet between kangaroos and sheep were greatest in good pasture and least in the poorest conditions. The other groups of plants considered were non-chenopod shrubs and browse. Extent of overlap was not clear, because animals may have eaten different species within the groups of plants. The study period did not include any severe drought, in which overlap in diet and competition between animal species would have been most significant.

My impression is that Searchfortruth is reiterating his point that studies demonstrate that there is some competition between sheep and kangaroos for available food. This is his response to a generalisation - which Searchfortruth considered unfortunate - made by one of our writers some time ago, where they implied that the competition between sheep and kangaroos was so small as to be not worth counting.

The text of Searchfortruth's original comment has been 'commented out' because it is overly personalised and repetitive. I hope that Searchfortruth will recognise that the document he/she has put forward has been republished here, along with the substance of his argument.

Yes but where are all the kangaroo shooters now?
They suddenly disappeared when the blog shifted ....did they chicken out? Run out of facts have you guys?
menkit

"It’s embarrassing for Australia that we eat our own wildlife ....I’m here to tell you it’s just not right. Simply do not buy, use or eat kangaroo products”
~ Steve Irwin
Sign the most important petition ever created to help kangar